Palliative Care in the Arab World

Prof. Humaid Obaid Al-Shamsi is the Chief Executive Officer of Burjeel Cancer Institute in Abu Dhabi, UAE, President of the Emirates Oncology Society, Lead of the Gulf Cancer Society, Full Professor of Oncology at the Ras Al Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, and an Adjunct Professor of Oncology at the College of Medicine, University of Sharjah. He is the first Emirati to be promoted as a professor in oncology in the UAE. He is also the Chairman for Colorectal Cancer in the MENA region, appointed by the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network®. He is also the only member of Lung Cancer Policy Network in the MENA region that aims to advance lung cancer research and screening globally. He is the Chairman of the Oncology and Hematology Fellowship Training Program for the National Institute for Health Specialties in the United Arab Emirates. He is the only member in GCC in the WIN Consortium which is comprised of organizations representing all stakeholders in personalized cancer medicine globally.

He is board-certified in both internal medicine and oncology from the UK, USA (ABIM), and Canada (FRCPC). He has also been awarded the FRCP (London) in 2023 and FRCP (Glasgow) in 2024. He is the only physician in the UAE with a subspecialty fellowship certification and training in gastrointestinal oncology and the first Emirati to train and complete a clinical post-doctoral fellowship in palliative care. He was an assistant professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2014 and 2017. He has published more than 140 peer-reviewed articles in JAMA Oncology, Lancet Oncology, The Oncologist, BMC Cancer, and many others. His area of expertise includes precision oncology and cancer care in the UAE. In 2016, he published with his group from MD Anderson the JCO paper describing a new distinct subgroup of CRC, NON V600 BRAF-mutated CRC. In 2022, he published the first book about cancer research in the UAE and also the first book about cancer in the Arab world, both of which were launched at Dubai Expo 2020. Cancer in the Arab World has been downloaded more than 450,000 times in its first 18 months of publication and is the ultimate source of cancer data in the Arab region. He also published the first comprehensive book about cancer care in the UAE which is the first book in UAE history to document the cancer care in the UAE with many topics addressed for the first time, e.g., neuroendocrine tumors in the UAE. He is passionate about advancing cancer care in the UAE and the GCC and has made significant contributions to cancer awareness and early detection for the public using social media platforms. He is considered as the most followed oncologist in the world with over 300,000 subscribers across his social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok). In 2022, he was awarded the prestigious Feigenbaum Leadership Excellence Award from Sheikh Hamdan Smart University for his exceptional leadership and research and the Sharjah Award for Volunteering. He was also named the Researcher of the Year in the UAE in 2020 and 2021 by the Emirates Oncology Society.

In May 2024, HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, awarded him the first place in the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (NAFIS) program for outstanding leadership in the private sector across all business and medical disciplines. Beside his clinical and administrative duties, he is engaged in education and various levels of research training for medical trainees to enhance their clinical and research skills. His mission is to advance cancer care in the UAE and the MENA region and make cancer care accessible to everyone in need around the globe.

Dr. Neil Nijhawan currently works as a consultant in palliative medicine at Burjeel Medical City and is an adjunct senior clinical lecturer at Khalifa Univ

1. Palliative Care in Algeria.- 2. Palliative Care in Bahrain.- 3. Palliative Care in Comoros.- 4. Palliative Care in Djibouti.- 5. Palliative Care in Egypt.- 6. Palliative Care in Iraq.- 7. Palliative Care in Jordan.- 8. Palliative Care in Kuwait.- 9. Palliative Care in Lebanon.- 10. Palliative Care in Libya.- 11. Palliative Care in Mauritania.- 12. Palliative Care in Morocco.- 13. Palliative Care in Oman.- 14. Palliative Care in Palestine.- 15. Palliative Care in Qatar.- 16. Palliative Care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).- 17. Palliative Care in Somalia.- 18. Palliative Care in Sudan.- 19. Palliative Care in Syria.- 20. Palliative Care in Tunisia.- 21. Palliative Care in the UAE.- 22. Palliative Care in Yemen.- 23. Palliative Care for Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA).- 24. Islam and End of Life Care.- 25, Attitudes Towards Death and Dying - The Interface Between Islamic Faith and Modern Medicine.- 26. Palliative Care Research in the Arab World.- 27. Truth-Telling and Maintaining Hope When Diagnosed with a Terminal Illness - From an Arabic Culture Perspective.